Those who share computers can also share their Steam games with Family Sharing.

Valve announced today that they will soon be launching a Steam Family Sharing service. This feature will allow close friends and families to share their library of Steam games. It will first be available in limited beta next week.

Steam Family Sharing will allow friends and family to play each other's games while earning their own Steam achievements, as well as storing their own save files and application data to the Steam cloud. To enable this feature players simply need to authorize a shared computer. Once the device is authorized, the lender's library of games will be available to access, download, and play. Simultaneous usage of an account's library is not permitted under this feature; the lender will have access to play their games at any given time. If the lender begins playing a game while a friend or family member is borrowing it, they borrower will be given a few minutes to either purchase the game or cease playing until the lender is done.

"Our customers have expressed a desire to share their digital games among friends and family members, just as current retail games, books, DVDs, and other physical media can be shared," explained Anna Sweet of Valve. "Family Sharing was created in direct response to these user requests."